Sunny skies and mild conditions greeted runners, throwers, hurdlers and jumpers Friday and Saturday at the Homer Invitational track meet in Homer.
With ideal weather conditions to play with, the Kenai Central girls won a second-straight team title with 130 total points, 31 better than runner-up Soldotna. The Kardinals won their home invite last week as well. Kenai rode the strength of four event victories to the team win.
“We’ve got a (Division I) runner and a couple (Division II) runners, and that makes a difference,” explained Kenai coach Chris Hanson. “We also had some younger runners scoring well.”
The Homer girls finished fifth in the team standings, Cook Inlet Academy took ninth, Nikiski placed 10th and Ninilchik took 11th.
On the boys side, Kodiak took the team crown with 138 points on the strength of six event wins, and were 16 points better than second-place Kenai. Soldotna finished third with 73 points. Nikiski finished eighth with 12 points.
Among many highlights to the weekend, Soldotna senior Tim Duke lowered his state-best time in the boys 300-meter hurdles to 39.77 seconds with a win. Duke topped second-place Jake Palmberg of Wasilla Lake by a whopping 4.3 seconds.
Duke also easily won the boys long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 8.5 inches, over two feet farther than his nearest competitor.
“He’s just a gifted athlete,” Soldotna coach Phil Leck said. “There was probably a 15 mile-per-hour headwind in the 300 hurdles.”
In the boys triple jump, Kenai sophomore Josh Jackman bested Duke by 11.5 inches with a distance of 41 feet, 3.75 inches, which is second-best in the state this year. Jackman also won the boys 100-meter dash and the 110-meter hurdles.
“He had a great meet,” coach Hanson said about Jackman. “Three individual wins and one (1,600-meter) relay win there.”
Hanson said Saturday was the first time competing in the triple jump for Jackman, who had only had a week of triple jump practice under his belt.
“He’s a very talented kid with a lot of potential,” Hanson said.
In the girls 100, senior Kyle Whannell led a Kenai 2-3 finish with teammate Tekaiya Rich. Whannell posted a time of 13.54 seconds, just .05 seconds faster than Rich. Whannell also finished third in the 200 meters.
The Soldotna girls also fared well in the relay events, taking three of four with wins in the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter relays. Two of those relay wins were also new state highs, as SoHi set the current standard in the 800-meter relay (1:50.65, a team composed of Hallie Landess, Dani McCormick, Lindsey Wong and Daisy Nelson) and the 3,200-meter relay (9:57.25, a team composed of McCormick, Emily Werner, Sadie Fox and Olivia Hutchings).
“We put together a couple teams that could run good times,” Leck said. “We had some of our faster girls back.”
Dani McCormick won the girls 800 meters by over three seconds with a time of 2:18.01. McCormick was also a part of all three SoHi winning relay teams, meaning the senior went 4-for-4 during the weekend.
The Kenai boys 1,600-meter relay also claimed victory, winning with a time of 3:33.51, about one second off their current state best.
Among other distance events, Kenai senior Allie Ostrander won the girls 1-mile race in a fast time of 4:47.86. Different from the traditional 1,600 meters, a true one mile equates to a slightly longer distance of 1,609 meters, meaning her converted time would be faster than her own current state record of 4:49.47. On Friday, Ostrander won the girls 3,200 in a time of 10:16.16.
Ostrander also won the girls 300-meter hurdles with a time of 48.31 seconds, beating Homer sophomore Lauren Evarts by 1.43 second. Evarts provided the home team’s only win of the weekend, taking the gold in the girls 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.45 seconds, beating Kenai sophomore Katie Kilfoyle by over a second.
Homer coach Bill Steyer also commended the Homer girls for a second-place finish in the 1,600-meter relay behind Soldotna, running a season-best time of 4:26.25.
On the boys side, Kenai senior Jonah Theisen won the 3,200 and 1-mile races and finished second in the 400.
Theisen’s brother, Jordan, also put in personal-best of 1:58.17 with a win the boys 800 meters, his first under two minutes.
In the girls jumping events, CIA senior Madison Orth continued her dominant season with a win in the triple jump. Orth’s winning leap was 31 feet, 8.25 inches. Orth also shared the victory in the girls long jump with Grace’s Annie VanderWeide, as both posted marks of 15 feet, 6.25 inches, which is still well short of Orth’s current state high of 16 feet, 10 inches.
Homer Invitational
GIRLS
Team scores: 1. Kenai Central, 130 points; 2. Soldotna, 99; 3. Grace, 63; 4. ACS, 57; 5. Homer, 47; 6. Wasilla, 39; 7. Kodiak, 36; 8. Glennallen, 24; 9. CIA, 23; 10. Nikiski, 7; 11. Ninilchik, 1.
Individual results
100m — 1. Tanner Ealum, ACS, 12.83; 2. Kyla Whannell, Ken, 13.54; 3. Tekaiya Rich, Ken, 13.59; 4. Christina Ellis, Gra, 13.74; 5. Lindsey Wong, Sol, 13.78; 6. Hallie Landess, Sol, 13.94.
200m — 1. Tanner Ealum, ACS, 26.14; 2. Daisy Nelson, Sol, 27.65; 3. Kyle Whannell, Ken, 28.00; 4. Ziza Shemet-Pitcher, Hom, 28.79; 5. Sarah Newton, Gra, 29.20; 6. HoneyRose Macatuno, Kod, 29.35.
400m — 1. Tanner Ealum, ACS, 56.93; 2. Daisy Nelson, Sol, 1:01.21; 3. Elizabeth Balsan, ACS, 1:04.52; 4. Sarah Newton, Gra, 1:05.33; 5. Julieanne Willson, Ken, 1:07.13; 6. Cheyenne Gillette, Hom, 1:08.54.
800m — 1. Dani McCormick, Sol, 2:18.01; 2. Briahna Gerlach, Gle, 2:21.22; 3. Elizabeth Balsan, ACS, 2:24.90; 4. Cheyenne Applegate, Gra, 2:26.40; 5. Riley Burroughs, Was, 2:30.94; 6. Melissa DeGuzman, Kod, 2:31.12.
1-mile — 1. Allie Ostrander, Ken, 4:47.86; 2. Briahna Gerlach, Gle, 5:09.33; 3. Elizabeth Balsan, ACS, 5:22.98; 4. Sadie Fox, Sol, 5:38.25; 5. Zoe Bigley, Kod, 5:46.68; 6. Audrey Rosencrans, Hom, 5:51.76.
3200m — 1. Allie Ostrander, Ken, 10:16.16; 2. Briahna Gerlach, Gle, 11:10.41; 3. Zoe Bigley, Kod, 12:03.50; 4. Riley Burroughs, Was, 12:11.91; 5. Ithaca Bergholtz, Ken, 12:22.64; 6. Audrey Rosencrans, Hom, 12:29.81.
100m hurdles — 1. Lauren Evarts, Hom, 17.45; 2. Katie Kilfoyle, Ken, 18.66; 3. Katelyn Earl, Sol, 19.24; 4. Madison Orth, CIA, 19.49; 5. Beverly Schindler, Ken, 20.04; 6. Abigail Cox, Ken, 20.06.
300m hurdles — 1. Allie Ostrander, Ken, 48.31; 2. Lauren Evarts, Hom, 49.74; 3. Katie Kilfoyle, Ken, 52.23; 4. Kierra Murphy, Kod, 55.71; 5. Ruth Dela Cruz, Kod, 55.72; 6. Kathleen Davis, ACS, 56.48.
400m relay — 1. Kenai (Coghill, Rich, Harding, Whannell), 53.05; 2. Grace, 54.94; 3. Soldotna, 55.52; 4. Kodiak, 55.84; 5. Wasilla, 56.51; 6. ACS, 56.95.
800m relay — 1. Soldotna (Landess, McCormick, Wong, Nelson), 1:50.65; 2. Kenai, 1:52.28; 3. Grace, 1:56.45; 4. Homer, 1:56.57; 5. Kodiak, 1:58.30; 6. ACS, 2:00.28.
1600m relay — 1. Soldotna (McCormick, Werner, Fox, Nelson), 4:18.71; 2. Homer, 4:26.25; 3. Kenai, 4:30.49; 4. ACS, 4:31.14; 5. Kodiak, 4:40.34; 6. Wasilla, 4:45.19.
3200m relay — 1. Soldotna (McCormick, Werner, Fox, Hutchings), 9:57.25; 2. Homer, 10:32.55; 3. Kodiak, 10:36.14; 4. Grace, 10:41.91; 5. Kenai, 11:15.17; 6. Kenai, 11:54.09.
Shot put — 1. Ashley Logan, Gra, 34—05 1-2; 2. Sylvia Tuisaula, Was, 34—03 1-2; 3. Annie Quinn, Sol, 33—07; 4. Abby Beck, Ken, 30—06 1-2; 5. Demiana Glenn, Was, 30—04 1-4; 6. Jordan Finney, Nin, 29—02.
Discus — 1. Ashley Logan, Gra, 122—06; 2. Abby Beck, Ken, 111—01; 3. Annie Quinn, Sol, 95—03; 4. Sylvia Tuisaula, Was, 88—04; 5. Sara Schindler, Was, 87—00; 6. Kendall Taplin, CIA, 81—03.
High Jump — 1. Ceil Dunleavy, Was, 5—02; 2. Kiana Harding, Ken, 5—01; 3. Lindsey Wong, Sol, 4—10; 4. Chantal Le Bon, Was, 4—08; 5. Crystal Crane, Hom, 4—08; 6. Victoria King, Gra, 4—06.
Long Jump — 1. Annie VanderWeide, Gra, 15—06 1-4; 2. Madison Orth, CIA, 15—06 1-4; 3. Lindsey Wong, Sol, 15—04 1-4; 4. Kiana Harding, Ken, 15—03 1-2; 5. Arianne Parrish, Nik, 15—02 3-4; 6. Julieanne Wilson, Ken, 14—11 1-4.
Triple Jump — 1. Madison Orth, CIA, 31—08 1-4; 2. Julieanne Wilson, Ken, 31—02 1-4; 3. Rosie Aquino, Kod, 30—10; 4. Arianne Parrish, Nik, 30—04; 5. Paige McCaffrey, ACS, 27—11 1-2; 6. Brittany Perry, Nik, 27—05 3-4.
BOYS
Team scores: 1. Kodiak, 138 points; 2. Kenai Central, 122; 3. Soldotna, 73; 4. ACS, 52; 5. Grace, 40; 6. Wasilla, 37; 7. Glennallen, 20; 8. Nikiski, 12; 9. Wasilla Lake, 12.
Individual results
100m — 1. Josh Jackman, Ken, 11.76; 2. Jordan Sondergaard, Gle, 11.95; 3. Billy Alcaide, Kod, 12.05; 4. Ian Ashley, Ken, 12.31; 5. Tom Randall, Ken, 12.37; 6. Brenner Furlong, Sol, 12.41.
200m — 1. Jemuel Mangalus, Kod, 23.62; 2. Jordan Sondergaard, Gle, 23.71; 3. Joshua Wilcox, Was, 24.14; 4. Shaun Quinn, ACS, 24.25; 5. Connor Seay, Hom, 24.66; 6. Nathan Spence, Sol, 24.76.
400m — 1. Michael Todd, ACS, 51.16; 2. Jonah Theisen, Ken, 52.33; 3. Levi Fried, Kod, 52.41; 4. Jordan Sondergaard, Gle, 52.91; 5. Uri Simmers, ACS, 54.14; 6. Jackson Meyer, Sol, 54.16.
800m — 1. Jordan Theisen, Ken, 1:58.17; 2. Levi Fried, Kod, 1:58.56; 3. Quincy Fuller, Was, 2:01.71; 4. Jack Hannah, Kod, 2:04.35; 5. Michael Todd, ACS, 2:05.26; 6. Aaron Swedberg, Sol, 2:05.56.
1-mile — 1. Jonah Theisen, Ken, 4:22.62; 2. Michael Todd, ACS, 4:37.46; 3. Levi Fried, Kod, 4:42.43; 4. Keith Osowski, Kod, 4:45.02; 5. Colton Pulver, Was, 4:45.86; 6. Jack Hannah, Kod, 4:47.76.
3200m — 1. Jonah Theisen, Ken, 9:54.79; 2. Keith Osowski, Kod, 10:04.88; 3. Colton Pulver, Was, 10:32.62; 4. Richie McKinney, Kod, 10:37.72; 5. Daniel Shuler, Sol, 10:44.57; 6. Kaleb Greathouse, Was, 10:56.79.
110m hurdles — 1. Josh Jackman, Ken, 16.79; 2. Daniel VanderWeide, Gra, 17.43; 3. Tyler Teuber, Kod, 18.09; 4. Jake Palmberg, WLC, 18.26; 5. Jonathan Railing, ACS, 18.63; 6. Wyatt Monear, Was, 19.12.
300m hurdles — 1. Tim Duke, Sol, 39.77; 2. Jake Palmberg, WLC, 44.07; 3. Brian Peters, ACS, 44.21; 4. Hayden Foster, Kod, 44.59; 5. Jonathan Railing, ACS, 45.17; 6. Daniel VanderWeide, Gra, 46.16.
400m relay — 1. Kodiak (Miranda, Alcaide, James, Mangalus), 46.01; 2. Kenai, 46.79; 3. Wasilla, 47.69; 4. Wasilla 2, 48.27; 5. Homer, 48.71; 6. Grace, 48.98.
800m relay — 1. Kodiak (Miranda, Foster, James, Mangalus), 1:36.34; 2. Kenai, 1:36.50; 3. Soldotna, 1:38.73; 4. Wasilla, 1:39.04; 5. Homer, 1:39.35; 6. ACS, 1:40.40.
1600m relay — 1. Kenai (Danielson, Theisen, Theisen, Jackman), 3:33.51; 2. Kodiak, 3:37.55; 3. ACS, 3:40.69; 4. Soldotna, 3:43.18; 5. Wasilla, 3:47.07; 6. Soldotna, 3:53.57.
3200m relay — 1. Kodiak (McKinney, Foster, Hannah, Osowski), 8:27.46; 2. Kenai, 8:37.86; 3. Soldotna, 8:53.71; 4. ACS, 9:12.77; 5. Wasilla, 9:23.40; 6. Soldotna, 9:28.07.
Shot put — 1. Kordell Pillans, Kod, 45—10 3-4; 2. Luke Johnson, Nik, 44—2 1-2; 3. Dalton Best, Sol, 43—6 1-2; 4. Adam O’Guinn, Sol, 42—11 1-2; 5. Reuben Sepeda, Nik, 41—11 1-4; 6. Randy Kohutek, ACS, 39—01.
Discus — 1. Kordell Pillans, Kod, 137—09; 2. Luke Johnson, Nik, 124—10; 3. Dalton Best, Sol, 117—00; 4. Tobias Randall, Ken, 116—06; 5. Adam O’Guinn, Sol, 112—09; 6. Jay Miranda, Kod, 107—01.
High Jump — 1. Braden Nieder, Gra, 5—10; 2. Keenan Orth, Ken, 5—08; 3. Daniel VanderWeide, Gra, 5—04; 4. Lane Kaltenbach, ACS, 5—04; 5. Koby Vinson, Sol, 5—02.
Long Jump — 1. Tim Duke, Sol, 20—08 1-2; 2. Brogan Nieder, Gra, 18—07 1-4; 3. Billy Alcaide, Kod, 17—08 3-4; 4. Drew Gibbs, Sol, 17—03 1-2; 5. John Shank, Hom, 17—03 1-2; 6. Aaron McCollum, Nik, 17—02 1-2.
Triple Jump — 1. Josh Jackman, Ken, 41—03 3-4; 2. Tim Duke, Sol, 40—04 1-4; 3. Jemuel Mangalus, Kod, 38—09 3-4; 4. Brogan Nieder, Gra, 38—07 1-2; 5. Karl Danielson, Ken, 37—09 1-2; 6. Justin Lee, Was, 37—05 3-4.
